


Secrets

by Am17 (am17usb)



Category: NCIS, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-02-27 03:15:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 16,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18730603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/am17usb/pseuds/Am17
Summary: A young Marine is kidnapped and tortured. The team around NCIS Special Agent Gibbs picks up on the findings, but soon has to realize that they are not the only ones who are after the culprit. Shortly afterwards, Gibbs and his team are visited by an Air Force colonel who wants to dissuade them from the investigations. Who kidnapped the Marine and what does the Air Force have to do with it?





	1. Coffee and Invitations

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Secrets](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18730588) by [Am17 (am17usb)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/am17usb/pseuds/Am17). 



> I post the german and english Version at the same time.  
> If everything is going Right ther will be one or two chaperts each week.

Like almost every morning, Tony came late into the office.  
Again and again he called absurd thing as reason for it, but today he did not have a valid reason. Usually he spent the night with a long-legged blonde, or was up till late in the nigth. But today he had overslept because he felt sick.  
"DiNozzo, you're late," Gibbs welcomed his oldest agent.  
"Sorry, boss, but I do not feel fit." Tony answered truthfully.  
He could not read from Gibbs' facial expressions whether he believed him or not.  
But Tony suspected the latter, since he had already brought this excuse on several occasions.  
"Let's get to work." Was the only thing Gibbs said before he disappeared, probably to get some coffee.  
Slowly, Tony sauntered to his desk and began to work on the files that were stacked there clean and neatly.  
Ziva and McGee looked at each other in amazement, because Tony did not behave like Tony: that is, telling them about last night or a movie, nor cracked a joke and even didn’t made a stupid commend.  
Ziva just shrugged her shoulders and then turned back to her files to work on.  
An hour later, Tony realized how slowly the painkillers were working, as his headaches got worse again.  
He rummaged in his drawers for a new pill, but found none.  
"I'll be in Abby's lab for a while, if anyone should look for me," he announced, making his way to the elevator without waiting for anyone to respond.

As the lift came to a stop in the basement the doors opened and Tony could hear the for Abby typical loud music from the lab.  
With the headache he had, it felt like someone slapped his head with a sledgehammer again and again.  
He had reached the facility in two steps.  
With skilled hands he switched off the hell instrument.  
"Who dares to lay fingers on my music?" He heard Abby growling from the next room.  
"Me Abs." Tony replied.  
Abby poked her head out of the room, with one of her pigtails falling in her face.  
"Tiger, what are you doing down here? You do not look well," she whined as she fell around his neck.  
"I have a headache and the pills are not working anymore and I do not have any more upstairs. It occurred to me that you always have some here."  
"Poor Tiger. I'll get you one right away." With that, Abby disappeared back into the next room and started searching for a tablet for her tiger.  
After finding one, she got a glass of water and gave both to Tony. He accepted the tablet and glass thank.  
"Thanks Abs, you saved my day."  
Strengthened again, he went back into the office and sat down at the PC, where he began playing a game he had secretly borrowed from McGee.  
He spent the next two hours this way, always careful that Gibbs did not catch him playing.

While Tony was playing and the other two agents were working on their files, Gibbs had disappeared to get another coffee.  
He had a bad feeling in his stomach since he had been up that morning.  
This made him restless all morning, which was the reason for his increased coffee consumption.  
Coffee was the one and only thing that could calm him down now.  
As he turned the corner and approached the doors of his favorite coffee dealer, as his colleagues called him, a black sedan approached him.  
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the car stop behind him and a man in his mid-twenties in a black suit getting out and walking toward him.

"Agent Gibbs, I'm Thomas McFaden. I work for Senator Julian Gromwich. He asked me to pick you up and drive him to his office." Addressed the man the NCIS agent.  
Gibbs studied the man closely and his gut feeling told him that that was the moment he had been waiting for all morning.  
"I hope there is good coffee there, otherwise I will leave immediately," Gibbs said before moving to the limousine.

About ten minutes later, the driver of the limousine parked the car in front of an expensive-looking building from the time of the American Civil War.  
Mr. McFaden had jumped up from the passenger seat and was about to open the car door for Gibbs, but Gibbs had already got out and climbed the stairs to the lobby.  
McFaden managed to catch up with Gibbs through a small sprint before entering the lobby.  
Another man, Gibbs guessed another Gromwich employee opened the door for them and called them in with a bow of the upper body.  
"Senator Gromwich is waiting for you in the living room," the butler told the two men.  
Together, the two moved to the right, where a large white double door formed the passage to the living room.  
McFaden paused at the door as he signaled Gibbs to enter the room and make himself comfortable.  
"They'll bring you a coffee right awaySir," he said.

Shortly after Gibbs sat down on the three-seater couch, a woman came into the room and brought a tray of coffee, milk and sugar.  
She set the tray on the small table next to the couch and left the room again.  
When the woman had left the room, a man entered, he was in his mid-sixties and approached Gibbs.  
"Agent Gibbs, thank you for coming so quickly. I'm Senator Gromwich," said the man, shaking Gibbs' hand.  
"I did not have much choice," said Gibbs, taking the hand.  
The senator just looked at him questioningly.  
"I needed coffee."

The two men sat down and together drank a cup of coffee while they did a bit of small talk.  
"Agent Gibbs, I'm sure you're wondering why I asked you to come here. One week ago, my son was badly wounded in action. According to the statements he was able to make when he was taken to the hospital, he was kidnapped and tortured. The police could not get any more out of him before he fell in to a coma."  
"I'm sorry to hear this Senator, but what does that have to do with the NCIS? That does not fall into our area of responsibility, especially if it happened during a mission."  
"Agent Gibbs, this is happened here ... HERE in Washington and not anywhere in Iraq or Afghanistan. My son was attacked here in the US and the Marine Corps did not even move a finger."  
Gibbs disbelievingly looked at the senator as he told him where this attack had taken place.  
Gibbs knew this was impossible, because if a member of the USMC or the USN were to do something like that in their home country, and especially in Washington, the NCIS would be notified.

"As I said, I'm sorry to hear that. I will immediately set my team on it to see who slept on the job and did not inform us. I promise you senator; we find the guilty party. "  
"Thanks, Agent Gibbs."


	2. Input

Gibbs stood in front of Senator Gromwich's house and had his cell phone on his ear.   
"What is boss?", Tony asked at the other end of the line.   
"I need all the information about Sergeant Emanuel Gromwich. Where he was stationed, with which unit. Just everything. McGee goes to the hospital and should see the doctors about the sergeant."   
Before Tony could reply, Gibbs had hung up on him and disappeared into the few bystanders on the street. 

Meanwhile, Tony had passed on the instructions of his boss to his two colleagues and went to look for the information Gibbs wanted.   
It did not take long for Tony to find the service record of the sergeant, but when he tried to open it, nothing happened.   
"Where's McBrain when you need him?", Tony asked himself, which brought him a little grin from Ziva.   
Finally, after just over two hours later, McGee finally came back from the hospital, but he also failed to gain access to the full file. 

None of the three had noticed, as they were so engrossed in their work that Gibbs had come back to headquarters.   
Only when he cleared his throat and asked: "What do you have for me?", The three startled.   
"First Sergeant Noah Benjamin Gromwich. Born on 03.11.1983. No children not married. Joined the Corps immediately after graduation from high school. He was passed initial training with honors, worked his way up ever since. So far, he had twice been awarded with the Bronze Star and once the Silver Star. Furthermore, he has been awarded the Purpel Heart six times and he has the following awards: Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal", Tony listed the awards.   
When he put the service record of Gromwich on the big screen.   
"Ziva?", Gibbs asked.   
"Until two years ago, the sergeant was subordinate to MARSOC*. In 2007, he was transferred from Camp Lejeune to Cheyenne Mountain to SPADATS*", Ziva finished her sentence.   
"McGee?", Gibbs asked his youngest agent as he did not move on.   
"Boss?", He asked surprised.   
"Intel McGee," Gibbs said, pointing to the agent's computer.   
"Uh ...", McGee started and looked for help to his two colleagues, but the two looked in other directions.   
"We do not have any more boss", came Timothy´s answer.   
"What does that mean?", Gibbs asked with a touch of annoyance. 

"That's all we found. It's almost as if the sergeant does not exist. He has no home address, no phone number, not even a cell phone. Nothing you could find him with. Not that will have to be because he is in the hospital, but there is no clue from his file on who has addressed him so", Ziva jumped in, as she had now but a little compassion for her colleague.   
"What had Abby been able to find out so far?", Her boss asked, after taking a sip of his coffee.   
"The few things Gromwich had with him when he was hospitalized have not arrived yet for Abby. They said that they will immediately send them over with a courier, after they got everything together", McGee told his boss what the doctor had previously told him at the hospital.   
Gibbs turned on the spot and was about to make his way to the director's office when he turned once more to an agent.   
"What are you waiting for? I want to know more about the sergeant, even if you have to turn over every damned stone in the country."   
With these words Gibbs disappeared over the stairs to the director's office. 

"Abby I need your help!", shout Tim against the loud music of the Goth.   
However, she did not seem to have heard him, as she was still hopping like wild through the back of her lab, playing with her two pigtails.   
"Abby!", The young agent tried again, but Abby did not react, agin.   
Quickly, the agent stomped over to the forensic scientist's facility and pressed the off-switch, whereupon the music stopped and the goth whirled around.   
When she saw who was standing in her lab, she jumped up and ran to "her" agent.   
"McGee!", she cried and jumped him around the neck.   
"What are you doing down here, we have no case. Have we?", squeaked the lively Goth, releasing McGee.   
"My babies are ready to help you with everything. Major mass spectrometer is happy again if you have slime for him, because he loves it so much", it bubbled out of her.   
"Yes, Abbs we have a new case. A Marine was beaten and is now in a coma. His belongings will be arriving here at any moment. But until then I need your help. I need the Sergeant's file, only I have not managed to get the whole file. Someone blocks us, someone with a lot of power." 

It was not long before the sergeant's belongings arrived at NCIS headquarters and Abby got to work while McGee tried to find out more about the sergeant.   
With the help of Abby he had managed to find an bank account that was registered to the sergeant, but was very well protected.   
With a little trick it was the possible to find a solution and get full access to the bank account, which amounted to almost three quarters of a million dollar.   
The two did not look bad when they saw how much he was paid monthly to the account.   
On average, a four-digit sum. 

Abby was examining the personal belongings of Noah Gromwich and was just looking at the contents of the purse.   
So far, she had found a credit card issued by the bank where their victim had the secret account, his ID card, and an unlabeled access card.   
"Forty, fifty ... what's that?", Abby said in surprise, as she counted the cash and found a business card in between the bills.   
PI Club stood in big yellow letters on the front of the card.   
Strange was she knew the card, only she did not know from where.   
"Timmy, I have something here", she said without taking her eyes off the card. 

McGee turned away from the computer screen and walked to the Goth.   
"Here", she said, holding the card out to McGee.   
He did not know what to do with it until she turned the card over and a date stamp appeared.   
The date of the attack.   
"YOU are the best!", he says while he was halfway out of the lab and almost collided with Gibbs.   
He wanted to talk to Abby and had the so beloved CAFPOW for her.   
"Boss, I just wanted to come up to you Abbs and I found something."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * MARSOC = United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command
> 
> * SPADATS = Space Detection and Tracking System


	3. Approach

Tony stopped the car at the door of the nightclub where, according to his entry ticket, Sergeant Gromwich had been last before the attack.  
In large neon letters, PI Club was above the entrance, which was blocked by a bouncer.  
"That's to my taste", Tony said out loud.  
"What?", Ziva asked annoyed.  
"The location is just perfect; no neighbor who may interfere with you", he said, alluding to the remoteness of the club.  
"I do not know. Running from here to my apartment every night, it nothing for me", Ziva replied.  
Tony could not resist a grin.  
"You the ice-cold Mossad agent are too lazy to walk a few yards?"  
Without responding to his comment, she headed for the bouncer.  
"Officer David and Special Agent DiNozzo. We would like to talk to the owner of this club", she told him, holding her ID card under is nose.  
"I'm sorry, Officer, but the boss is in an important meeting", was the answer of this hulk of a man and demonstratively turned even more in front of the door. 

"You do not want to be in the path of a federal official conducting an investigation?", Tony asked ironically with his arms thrown across his chest.  
"As I said, the boss is in an important meeting and I have instructions to not let anyone into the club."  
"Today they will probably make an exception", said Ziva in a threatening tone and pulled her jacket as far to the side until he could see her weapon. 

~~~***~~~

While Ton and Ziva were on their way to the Pi Club, McGee and Abby were still trying to get to the sergeant's file.  
But as hard as they tried, they did not get any further.  
McGee had even gone so far that he had hacked into the Pentagon, but when he wanted to access the files he was discovered, and he was thrown out of the system.  
Abby was sitting next to him, sipping at her Caf Pow and starting into the void.  
"McGee why do we not just call the Pentagon and ask what the sergeant did", she said suddenly.  
Tim looked at her in horror.  
"We should what?", he asked.  
"We call the Pentagon and ask about the sergeant. Someone has to know him or of him."  
"And then what do we ask. Hello, do you know a sergeant Gromwich? If so, can you tell me what he does?"  
"Why not?", was her response.  
McGee just shook his head.  
"I'll call Gibbs", Abby said as she reached for the phone. 

~~~***~~~

Gibbs was sitting at his desk when his phone rang.  
"Yes?", he muttered in the phone.  
"Gibbs. McGee just cannot get in the file. He is at his wit end ... ", but Gibbs had stopped listening when Abby told him that McGee did not get into the file, because the elevator had opened and a man in the dress-blue of the Air Force had stepped out.  
His stomach immediately told Gibbs that the officer would not mean good things for his investigation.  
The man walked purposefully up the stairs that led to the MTAC and the director's office. 

~~~***~~~

"Lieutenant Colonel Davis. I would like to speak with the director of this Agency", Davis told the receptionist of Director Vance.  
"I'm sorry, but the director is in a meeting with General Smith," replied Jana, the substitute for the actual secretary.  
"General Walter Smith, USMC?", Davis asked.  
"Yes, Colonel. The director is in a meeting with the Deputy Commander of the SOUTHCOM*. "  
Without another word, Colonel Davis entered the office of Director Vance. 

"Colonel?", Vance asked in amazement as Davis entered the office.  
"Excuse me, but I have to talk to you."  
"Colonel, as you can see, I’m in a meeting ...", Vance started to reply.  
"I can see that, sir. But I was sent directly by General O'Neill", Davis interrupted him.  
When Smith heard the name O'Neill, the of tips his ears had gone up, he could be almost pass as a Spock Double.  
"Who? I'm not familiar with a Marine Corps General by this name", Vance said thoughtfully.  
"The General is just like me, from him Air Force and is head of a division in the Pentagon, which is under the direct command of the President."  
"That sounds important", Smith replies, getting to his feet.  
At the door, the General looked briefly at Vance.  
"Leon, we will continue our conversation soon. And Colonel, if you see O'Neill, tell him he owes me another bottle of scotch. " 

~~~***~~~

Tony and Ziva had arrived in the inside of club, thanks to Ziva's encouragement tactic.  
The main hall of the club was slightly larger than their headquarters office, the perfect place to party.  
In the middle of the room stood three people and talked excitedly.  
"... you cannot do it. I did not do anything", one of the figures shouted to the other two.  
"That may be, we just want the pictures of your security cameras", said a woman's voice.  
"Stuff it", the first voice answered.  
The three had not noticed Ziva and Tony so far, so Tony cleared his throat.  
"Federal agents!", announced Tony them.  
The figures turned to the two NCIS agents in alarm.  
When the first men heard them speak, he started running.  
“Shit! “, came it from Tony and the second man, who had not said anything yet and he and the women started to run after the fugitive, when they saw the first men running.  
"NICS! DON´T MOVE!" Tony yelled while running after the three.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * SOUTHCOM: United States Southern Command. Division Command of the US Armed Forces for South America.


	4. NCIS vs OSI

Tony and Ziva ran after the three people through the back door of the club into the back alley.   
One of the men was a bit behind the other two but tried to catch up with them.   
The three of them rounded a corner and the two NCIS agents lost sight of them for a moment, but as they also turned the corner, they almost ran into the three people.   
"NCIS stop!", Tony shouted a bit out of breath.   
Meanwhile Ziva had pulled her pistol and aimed at the three people.   
"OSI*!“, replayed the woman.   
"What?" Ziva asked.   
"Air Force Office of Special Investigations", It came from the man who was already in the club with the woman. 

A soft moan sounded at the feet of the third man, who had said nothing yet.   
"Murry help him up and cuff", said the woman.   
"Nobody moves. You are all coming to our headquarters now. There we will determined whether you really belong to Air Force.” 

~~~***~~~

Tony and Ziva were en route with their "guests" to the Navy Yard, while Gibbs was still sitting in the office with Director Vance and Lieutenant Colonel Davis, talking.   
"Colonel, what exactly do you want from Agent Gibbs now?", Vance asked Davis.   
"All documents related to the Gromwich case. OSI will take over from here", Davis explained his request one more time.   
"It is out of the question. The sergeant is a Marine and therefore falls in our Territory Colonel. And besides, the father of the sergeant personally asked me to conduct the investigation since you and your guys did nothing in the week since the sergeant was beaten up."   
"That's not quite right. Since the sergeant was working for the Air Force, that's our responsibility", Davis replied.   
"That does not explain why you haven even lift a finger for the sergeant", Gibbs almost snapped.   
"I myself have only herd of this attack a few Days ago, Agent. The sergeant had special leave until three days ago. When he didn’t report for duty, we started to investigate immediately." 

The three were interrupted by the ringing of the intercom.   
"What is it? I'm in an important meeting", Vance asked his secretary.   
"Excuse me Mr. Director, but Sergeant Gromwich's father, Senator Gromwich would like to speak to you."   
"Send him in." 

~~~***~~~

The elevator doors opened and Tony, Ziva and the three OSI agents entered the office.   
"Come along", Tony just said and led them to their desks.   
Once there, Tony turned to McGee.   
"I need a confirmation that the three belong to the OSI", he said, pointing his finger over his shoulder at the three.   
"Their names are Carter, Jackson and Murry."   
McGee immediately started tipping wildly on his keyboard and a few seconds later he had his first results.  
"Tony, they belong to the Air Force. The woman is Colonel Samantha Carter." 

Tony turned to the three and saw a grinned Sam.   
"As you can see, we belong to the OSI. So if you could give us OUR witnesses now so that we can do our job", Sam said plainly.   
"Not so fast", came Gibbs voice from the stairs.   
"The sergeant is a Marine", He just said and sad down at his desk.   
"Agent ...?" Asked the Daniel.   
"Gibbs. And whi are you?", Gibbs replied.   
"Dr. Daniel Jackson. The sergeant is a Marine that's right, but he worked for the Air Force ... ", Daniel started, but was interrupted by Gibbs.   
"That's what Colonel Davis has already said. I do not care. The case is mine." 

"Agent Gibbs", came the director's voice throughout the open-plan office.   
Gibbs looks up at his superior and waited for him to continue talking.   
"The Air Force will take over the investigation. Give them everything that has anything to do with this case."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OSI = United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations. USAFs counterpart to USN NCIS


	5. Who are they?

"Director Vance, Sergeant Gromwich is a Marine", Gibbs repeated his mantra so that he did not have to hand over the case.   
"Gibbs, that comes from SECNAV*. Give them everything to do with the case and do not interfere."   
"Yes, director Vance."   
Gibbs turned to his team and ordered them to gather all the evidence and hand it over to the two Air Force Colonels.   
"Agent Gibbs, thanks for your cooperation", Davis thanked Gibbs and started to move away from him, when he grabbed his arm and stopped him.   
"He's a Marine", he said softly, so only Davis could hear him.   
Davis freed himself from Gibbs grip and went with SG-1 to the elevator, in which he disappeared. 

~~~***~~~

"McGee, what do you have about this weird OSI-Team?", Gibbs wanted to know from his youngest teammate.   
"Not much boss. I could only find things about Dr. Jackson and Colonel Carter", he replies, answering the question from his boss.   
"What are you waiting for, put it on the screen McGee", Gibbs snapped at the young agent.   
McGee flinched briefly before letting his fingers fly over the keyboard of his PC and putting the collected data on the big screen.   
"Dr. Daniel Jackson holds a Doctorate in Archeology and Language. Born on 08.07.1965 in New York. Parents were killed in an accident when he was eight years old. Was then with some foster families, before he was raised by his grandfather. When he had his doctorate, he worked for leading museums all over the world, but especially in Egypt. Published several books in which he formulated theories about the buliding of the pyramids. His most famous work is also what has made him even better known. In this book he talks about aliens building the pyramids", talked McGee about Dr. Jackson.   
"When was that McGoogle? I would have heard of it, if aliens had built the pyramids", Tony asked with an amused tone in his voice.   
"He had his last release in the '90s, nothing more from him since then", McGee replied.   
"Well, no museum hires one who believes aliens have built the pyramids", Tony said.   
"Not a museum, but apparently the government", Ziva interjected.   
"I have to agree with Ziva", Gibbs said.   
"McGee, how long has Jackson been working for OSI?", Gibbs asked as he continued to look at the monitor.   
"I don´t know. He works since 1995 as a consultant for the Air Force. Noting more."   
"What about this Carter, do we have anything about her?", Tony wanted to know as the image of the blond Air Force Colonel came on the screen. 

"Colonel Dr. Samantha Carter with the Air Force since 1985. Doctor in Astrophysics and Quantum Physics. Born on 29.12.1968. Father Jacob Carter, Major General of Air Force, not much about the mother except the date of death. The only surviving relative is her brother Marc Carter and his family. Flew F-15 and F-16 during the Gulf War and spent two years in the Pentagon. Since 1997, I have lost track of her completely, as with Dr. med. Jackson. Until she had a television interview in 2005 to reinterpret the message of businessman Alec Colsen that there is no extraterrestrial life and that what Colsen had presented to the public had just been a hologram. Then she disappeared again, until she reappeared at a conference, then nothing again. It is as if she were swallowed up by the earth." 

"What about this Murry?" Gibbs wanted to know now.   
"Nothing, as if he did not even exist.”   
"McGee keep looking, I want to know what's going on and, in the meantime, Ziva and Tony will keep asking questions about the sergeant. I want answers, and best of all yesterday."   
With these words Gibbs stomped off, clutching the coffee mug tightly on the way to visit an old friend. 

~~~***~~~

Pentagon, E-ring 

"General O'Neill we could still have problems. The NCIS agent who led the case will not let up easily. He will do everything in his power to find the culprit who did this to the sergeant, as he has repeatedly made clear."   
"I can only agree with Sam. This Gibbs is tough, he will do everything to clear up this case, even if we have taken over from him", it came from Daniel.   
"T, what do you think?", O'Neill asked and looked directly at Teal'c, who had not said anything yet. Teal'c raised his eyebrow and answered in his usual tone:   
"Agent Gibbs is a man with a great sense of loyalty."   
"I thought to myself. Colonel, when Mitchell is back on Earth, bring him here. Clarify the case and make sure Gibbs does not dig too deep."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SECNAV: Secretary of the Navy, civil director of the USN and the USMC


	6. Another world

Pentagon main entrance 

After his agent hadn’t found anything of value of the AFOSI Team, Gibbs had made his way to the Pentagon to request a favor from an old friend.   
So it was that he now was standing in the lobby of the Pentagon, waiting to be told where to find the office of Major General Thomas Alexander, USMC.   
"Agent Gibbs, you find the office in Corridor 7, A-ring, fifth floor, room 7A5126. His Office was informed about your request for a meeting and they are waiting on you."   
Without saying goodbye, Gibbs set out to cross the Pentagon.   
Seven minutes later, Gibbs stood in the General's anteroom, waiting for him to return from a meeting with an Air Force General.   
"Agent Gibbs, can I offer you something to drink, tea, coffee?", asked the generals main secretary.  
"No, thank you, I had a coffee before I came here", Gibbs replied kindly before looking out of the window in the pentagon's courtyard.   
"I think I´m dreaming, the Gunny, declines a coffee offered to him, Marine coffee", came the voice of General Alexander from the entrance of the anteroom.   
"Sir!", came it from Gibbs and the secretary, who had jumped up and saluted, at the same time.   
"Melory, you are no longer in Corps. You do not have to jump up and salute when I enter a room."   
"Sorry sir, force of habit, won´t happen anymore", Melory replied.   
She sat down and eagerly began to hack around on her computer.   
"Gibbs, follow me into my office. There we can talk undisturbed", said the General as he opened the door to his office and Gibbs followed him in.   
"Melory, I do not want to be disturbed", the General said, closing the door so fast that he did not hear the "yes, sir" from Melory. 

"You can get the woman out of the Corps, but not the Corps out of the woman", Alexander said as he dropped onto the chair behind his desk.  
"So, Gunny, what can I do for you? It's not often that you let yourself be seen around here. Is everything still going at the NCIS?"   
"I'm here because I want to cash in on an old favor that I still have open with you Thomas", Gibbs answers straight way.   
"That does not sound good. How can I help you?"   
"It's about a dead Marine, First Sergeant Noah Benjamin Gromwich ...", but he did not get any further because he was interrupted by General Alexander.   
"Not the son of Senator Julian Gromwich?"   
"Exactly him. My team and I started working on the case and quickly found lead. When we followed this lead, we met a team from AFOSI. From there everything was a bit unclear. The AFOSI claims this case, because the Sergeant worked for the Air Force", Gibbs briefly explained the situation.   
"And how can I help you? I have no control over the AFOSI. My hands are tied, and I do not know anyone who can help you there."   
"I realize that Thomas, that's not why I'm here. My gut feeling told me that something was wrong with the AFOSI Team, so I had my team checked them out. It's as if the members of this team do not exist."   
"Maybe it’s their job is not to be found? That they are the Air Force counterpart to the NCIS OSP*?", the general interjected.   
"Of course, I've already thought about it, but even then, there would be more information. But what covert investigation team needs a man with a doctorate in archeology and language, a Colonel with a PhD in Astrophysics and Quantum physics, and a man who has less than the first two?", asked Gibbs.   
"Sounds almost like the people I have to deal with every couple of weeks. But why are you here right now Gunny?", came it a bit of amusement from Alexander.   
"I was hoping you could help me find out more about Dr. Daniel Jackson and Colonel Samantha Carter." 

In milliseconds the expression of General Alexander abruptly changed.   
"You do not mean Colonel Samantha Carter-O'Neill. Your height, long blond hair in the beginning to middle forties?", he asked Gibbs.   
"Her file doesn’t say anything about a second Name O´Neill. But that does not matter, because from your reaction I take it you know her?"   
"Know her? Do I know her? Jethro, she's one of the smartest people in this country, if not this planet. She has contacts to the Oval Office. Damn, her husband is a Lieutenant General of the Air Force, who works here at the Pentagon and is my supervisor."   
"You want to tell me that such a famous and important person investigates an assault of a Marine? So, she is not really employed by AFOSI?"   
"Exactly Gibbs she is not at AFOSI and I advise you to leave it at that. When Colonel Carter and her Team shows up, it's more than just a simple assault investigation. And before you say anything, I advise you even more times, keep your hands off the case, the whole goes far beyond your paygrade Jethro."  
"So, you will not help me?", Gibbs asked once more.   
"As much as I would like to Gunny, with this Case I can´t."   
"Thanks for the information", Gibbs stood up and held out his hand to the General.   
He seized the offered hand and shook it as a goodbye.   
"Really I'm sorry Gunny. Maybe we can go for a beer, just like in the old days."   
"We can do that", Gibbs replied when he left the office.   
When Gibbs left the antechamber, he picked up the phone. 

Great Falls Park   
Potomac River   
Great Falls 

After neither McGee nor Abby had managed to find out more about the AFOSI people, they had begun to find out, in which hotel they had checked in.   
It did not take long for McGee to find the hotel, but what bothered him was that it was a four-star hotel in downtown Washington.   
Ziva wanted to call Gibbs when he got even worse mood like before kicking them out of the elevator.   
Immediately they had told him what they had found out, but that did not seem to make him happy and asked why they were still in the office and not in front of the hotel and shadowed the Air Force "Band", as Gibbs had called them.   
So, Tony and Ziva were sitting in a car in the middle of a forest, watching Colonel Carter and Dr. Jackson and Murry, while they were in the proximity of a wooden Hut watching it. 

"Zivvaa?", Tony began to annoy Ziva for the hundredth time that evening, which seemed to him to be a lot of fun.   
"What?", she hissed at him without taking her eyes off Colonel Carter.   
"Did you know that the Potomac is more than 600 kilometers long?", Tony asked her, as if it was normal to sit in the middle of a forest and spy on other people.   
"Tony, what do you want? You are already annoying me with your stupid questions the whole evening", came it from Ziva in her threatening calm voice, where she looked at him the first time that evening properly.   
"Now you hurt me Ziva. Say it, you like it when I bother you. You think it's sexy", Tony said with a thick DiNozzo grin on his face.   
"Where do you think? I do not like it when you annoy me and most of all I do not think it's sexy when you do that."   
"It's called "What are you dreaming about?" Not "do you think" Zivvaaa", he corrected her as usual.   
"I do not care, and now be quiet. We have a job to do", she said, watching again as Colonel Carter began talking softly to someone on her phone.   
Tony grinned at her even more but left it to annoy her even further and now looked again from the front window of the car.   
Ziva watched as Colonel Carter, the phone still on her ear, turned to look directly in their direction.   
Ziva's heartbeat stopped as Colonel Carter's gaze brushed hers for a fraction of a second.   
Calculating the worst, she carefully reached for the ignition key to drive away in an instant, but Colonel Carter turned back to Dr. Jackson, which led Ziva to conclude that the Colonel had not discovered her, which relieved her.   
"Ziva, do you not find it strange what an Air Force Colonel and an alien doctor want to find out here?", Tony asked.   
"Tony, shout it, you're annoying me with your questions. I do not know what the Air Force wants here, I do not know how long the Potomac is and I do not know why you're asking me everything. If you continue to annoy me, I will kill you with my bare hands and then sink you into the Potomac. To Gibbs I'll say you were for little DiNozzo's and didn´t came back and I could only see how you were in the Potomac. Have understood each other?", said Ziva visibly annoyed at her colleagues.   
Tony seemed to choose his next words, but he could not pronounce them anymore, with more than a dozen armed men almost silently passing them, heading straight for Colonel Carter. 

The figures had fused with the shadows as quickly as they had appeared.   
"You saw them too?", Tony asked bewildered.   
"Where did they come from?", Ziva asked.   
"There “, Tony’s answer to her question and he pointed at Colonel Carter, who received the men with a short nod and then explained something to them.   
After a minute, the fused again with the shadows of the forest as they spread around the hut.   
The two NCIS agents grabbed their weapons from years of experience and got out of their car and walked quietly toward Colonel Carter.   
They had not even made it halfway when Colonel Carter, followed by Dr. Jackson and Murry emerged from their hiding place and ran to the hut.   
Tony could see that now the figures were running from everywhere to the hut surrounding it. 

The pair were now at the level with the Colonel's former hiding place when the first shots were fired at Colonel Carter and her men.   
No longer paying attention to their camouflage, Colonel Carter and her companions ran to a small shed and used it as cover.   
Almost at the edge of the small clearing where the hut was, Ziva and Tony saw something they thought was impossible. 

The task force of Colonel Carter was shot at with rifles and oranges as well as blue energy beams.   
They saw Murry now shooting with something that emitted those blue energy beams and hit one of the shooters in the house. 

One of the shooters in the house had identified the two NCIS agents and considered them simple targets because they were the only ones who had not taken cover when he opened fire with his staff weapon.   
He aimed at the male agent and squeezed the trigger.   
The plasma beam hit the agent on the hip, which thrown him backwards and on the ground. 

Ziva saw the beam of energy traveling from the window toward her and Tony, but she could not move.   
She turned her head in slow motion and saw the beam hit Tony on the hip and threw him off his legs.   
"Tony!", she exclaimed, falling to the floor next to her colleagues.   
She did not get the bright flash of light in the hut, not even that the firefight had died down.   
It was not until a man dropped onto the ground next to her that she realized how quiet it had become.   
"Staff weapon wound on the hip. Huge blood loss. He must go to the infirmary right away, otherwise he'll bleed to death", the man said as he tried to help Tony.   
"Carter to Hammond. Marks beam us straight to the infirmary and tell Cassie we have one wounded civilian who need immediately surgery", Colonel Carter's voice came from behind her and Ziva turned and looked at the blond woman.   
"I'm sorry", Carter said just before addressing Murry.   
"Teal'c", was the last thing she heard before she was hit by a blue energy ray.   
Ziva, Tony and the man sitting next to Tony and addressing his wound were shrouded in the same flash of light that had just lit up the cabin.

When the lightning had evaporated, the three had disappeared from the ground.   
"Colonel Reynolds, your men and SG-26 secure everything here. I'll send you some more Marine from the Hammond to help pack everything together. When you’re done, call General Landry for the debriefing "   
"What are we going to do with the prisoners?", asked Reynolds.   
"Since they are still out of action with the Goa'uld Shock Grenades, we will beam them to the Hammond and then to the SGC", Sam answered him and was then hit by Asgard Transporter. 

TBC


	7. And now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the comments and the kudos

McGee stepped out of the elevator and headed straight for his table, knowing that he was the first person, aside from Gibbs who was every time in the office.   
This way it did not surprise him that his boss was already sitting at his desk drinking his daily dose of coffee.   
"McGee, have you heard of Tony or Ziva?", Gibbs asked his agent as he sat down at his table.   
"No boss. Tony got in touch yesterday because he was bored and Ziva did not want to entertain him”, McGee replied as he started his computer.   
"Is something wrong Boss?", McGee asked.   
"I don’t know. I can´t reach dem on their mobiles or at home and there not calling me back", said Gibbs as he was standing up.   
"Maybe they turned off their phones or set them silent."   
"May be. I'll go get another coffee, and if one of them reports in, they should contact me immediately", said Gibbs, as he was almost at the elevator.   
"Yes Boss", McGee running after his boss when he disappeared in the elevator. 

~~~***~~~

"Gibbs", Jethro said as answered his cell phone, which had just rung.   
"Agent Gibbs this is Thomas McFaden. I'm calling on behalf of Senator Gromwich to inquire about what's going on in his son's case", the male voice said in Gibbs ear.   
"Mr. McFaden, the NCIS does not disclose any information about an ongoing investigation to anyone from outside. If the senator wants to know something, he must come to the NCIS and speak with the director. I cannot help you there. Have a nice day", Gibbs said, stopping any reply from McFaden as he ended the call and dialed a new number.   
"NCIS Agent McGee, how can I help you?", the young agent said over the phone.   
"McGee, have Ziva or DiNozzo contacted you? I just had a call from someone who works for the victim's father and he wanted to know what we know."   
"Boss the two have still not reported in. But I can track their phones wherever you want."   
"Do that and call me when you have a location for me", Gibbs said and hung up. 

USS George Hammond   
Infirmary 

"Cassie, what about your two patients?", Sam asked the young doctor who was next to her.   
"Just like the last time you asked, but since you're older, one more time. We continue to sedate Miss David until you say otherwise. Mr. DiNozzo's is stable. He is on the way to recovery. The staff weapon blast hit nothing vital and since he was in the ER so quickly and I used the hand Device, he should wake up soon", Cassie explained the situation once more.   
"Do not be so naughty young lady. I can get you of this ship very quickly, if I want to. Did we understand each other?" Sam said in her best superior officer tone.   
"Yes Mom, only then you have to look for another specialist in extraterrestrial medicine. Oh, how stupid I am the only other one trained in it is Doctor Lam and she has enough to do in the SGC, so you can forget it", came sarcastically back from Cassie.   
"But in a couple of years you can search for a replacement."   
"You've clearly lived with Jack for a long time, to long", Sam said, leaving the infirmary.   
"Then we are already two!", Cassie ripe after her. 

Sam entered the nearby meeting room where Daniel, Teal'c, Vala and Cam were waiting for her.   
"Is there anything new from our two pickups?", Cam asked even before Sam sat down.   
"No, there is nothing new from the two NCIS agents. Which is good, because if they are not conscious, we can think about what we tell them when they wake up again. They have already seen the staff weapons and Zats and one was even wounded", Sam answered and sat down at the head of the table.   
"What are we doing with the NCIS? Are we telling them what happened to their two agents, or are we leaving them in the dark?", Cam asked.   
"We have to tell the NCIS that we have two of their agents and one of them has been wounded“, Daniel said immediately.   
"We're not doing anything", came the voice of General O'Neill from behind them.   
"Jack, we cannot hold two federal agents and say nothing to their agency. The two of them could have families who worry about them if they do not come home", Daniel was immediately on their case.   
"No Daniel, we do not. The two should not have been there, the NCIS must be kept out of our investigation. But no. First, Agent Gibbs turns up in the Pentagon and asks questions about you and Sam, Daniel and then he sends two of his agents shadowing you. And now do not come with your tour, we must help all people. It won’t help them. The President is also of this opinion for the time being."   
With these words, Jack sat opposite to him at table.   
"Sir, I have to agree with Daniel. We cannot keep the two agents here. After all, they are on a spacecraft of the US armed forces, which shouldn’t even exist with our current state of technology", Mitchell intervened and looked at Jack directly.   
"President Seaborne and I think we keep the two agents aboard. Of course, they will not see anything except their rooms", Jack said with an end of discussion tone of voice.   
"That's not how I know you General Jack. So dominant", Vala intervened, which eased the mood in the room a bit.   
"Daniel, keep your girlfriend in check. It's enough if this Gibbs makes my job difficult for me, because I do not need a Space monkey dependent alien thief, which worries me." 

Daniel looked closely at his longtime friend as he continued to duck over Agent Gibbs.   
"You like him", Daniel suddenly said, stopping all conversations between his friends.   
"What?", Jack asked confused.   
"You like this agent, even if you do not want to show it. You admire the stubbornness with which Agent Gibbs tries to do everything for this Marine. No one is left behind, isn’t it right?", Daniel said.   
"Indeed", Teal'c intervened, not having said more than two words the entire time.   
"Agent Gibbs is as honorable as you are O'Neill, you both live to the same high standard. You take care of your subordinates. He will do his utmost to find his two agents. You would do the same if it were one of us."   
"Not you to big guy. Is nobody on my side? Mitchell? Vala? Saaamm?", Jack whined now.   
The three escaped an answer as Cassie came into the meeting room.   
"Uh ... hi", Cassie said a little confused, when all eyes were suddenly on her.   
"The way it looks, Agent DiNozzo will wake up soon and I would advise to wake up Agent David. The reason is simple: when DiNozzo wakes up he at least sees a familiar face after this trauma he just experienced."   
"Does it have to be that way? I was hoping the two would go limp until we solved the case and we could get rid of it. "   
"Don´t make this face Jack."   
"Great. If you want to excuse me, I have to call the President and inform him about the situation and in the meantime, Cam, Daniel and Vala continue to question the prisoners. Teal'c you go with Cassie to the infirmary and wait there until the two agents wake up. Sam, you come with me."   
With these words, Jack got up and waited for Sam to leave the room together. 

NCIS HQ   
Office of the Director 

"Gibbs, what's up?", Director Vance asked as Gibbs walked into his office, like always without knocking first.   
"Leon, two of my agents have disappeared. They should shadow someone and have not contacted me or anyone here. Their cell phones can’t be located, even the GPS in their car does not respond, if we wanted to ping it. They have disappeared from the face of earth", Gibbs blurted out anxiously.   
Leon was surprised by this verbal outburst from Gibbs, a man who otherwise showed little emotion.   
"Who should they shadow?", he asked Gibbs, even though he was sure he known whom.   
Gibbs did not give him a direct answer to his question, just stared at him.   
This look was enough for Leon to confirm his guess.   
"Gibbs, should have stayed out of this case. Damn Gibbs. Why can’t you forget your stubbornness? And why do they even shadow members of the AFOSI? Do you haven’t other ways to find out more about them? Forget it. I will make a few phone calls and see what I can do. Maybe someone from AFOSI knows where our people are."   
"Thank you, Leon." 

USS George Hammond   
Infirmary 

The first thing Tony felled, was the twitching in the area on the right side of his hip.   
This twitch quickly became a considerable pain that made him moan.   
He heard someone turning to face him, so he tried to open his eyes and contrary to his expectation, he was not dazzled by blinding light, but found himself in a dark environment.   
"Agent DiNozzo, you're awake. How are you?", One of persons near him asked in a gentle voice.   
"Where am I?", was the first thing that came to his mind and obviously he had said it aloud.   
"You're in the infirmary aboard the USS George Hammond."


	8. Chapter 8

"How do I get on a Navy ship?", Tony asked bewildered.   
"Well, after you were wounded, this was the only logical decision. The nearest hospital with adequate equipment would have been too far away to take you there", Cassie answers his question indirectly.   
"But how do I get here? The last thing I can remember was a firefight between the Air Force and unknown men. Now I'm on a Navy ship, even though I was just in a forest."   
"Mr. DiNozzo, you were in the operating room for several hours and since then you were unconscious."   
"ZIVA! What about my colleague? She was with me, where is she?", Tony asked worried as he realized his partner was not sitting by his bed.   
"Ms. David is lying in a bed over there", Cassie said, pointing to the other end of the infirmary.   
"We had to sedate her. She was very upset because she did not know what was happening to you and collapsed. She has been pestering my staff with questions", Cassie explained why Ziva was lying in a bed.   
"Can I see her?", Tony asked Cassie as he tried to catch a glimpse of his partner.   
"Agent DiNozzo, it's better you lie down and wait until your colleague wakes up. Then she can come over", Cassie retorted as Tony tried to get up.   
After the next attempt to get up, Tony sank immediately back into the pillows, the pain was to strong.

"Agent DiNozzo, Doctor Fraiser will take good care of you and your colleague. You two are in very good hands", Teal'c, who had been standing in the background, intervened in the conversation.   
"You were already in our office and you´re involved in the shooting. What type of weapons were used there? Were these beam weapons?"   
"As a matter of fact, Yes."   
"Where am I?", came the tired voice of Ziva from her bed without warning.   
Immediately, a nurse and Cassie were with her. 

"Ms. David, you're in the infirmary aboard the USS George Hammond. You fainted shortly after the shooting was over. You were unconscious until just now", Cassie spoke to a visibly confused Ziva.   
"OH MY GOD!!! TONY!! WHERE IS HE? HOW IS HE? Is he still alive?", she exclaimed as the memory of the shootings came back to her mind.   
"Hey Ziva over here!" Tony exclaimed from his bed, when Cassie said nothing about his condition.   
"Tony!", Ziva exclaimed relieved.   
"Hey, lie down", said the orderly as Ziva swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up.   
She didn’t even reach the five feet mark, as her legs couldn’t hold her up and she collapsed.   
It was only Teal'c swift response that helped her not to hit the ground and injure herself even more.   
"Thanks", Ziva mumbled softly as the Jaffa warrior put her back on her feet.   
"I'll support you, Agent David", he just said and helped her over to Tony's bed. 

~~~***~~~

Washington   
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW 

"Jack, do we have to do it personally? Could we have not made the call from the Hammond?", Sam asked her husband.   
"Nope, we do it personally. Besides, you like his wife", Jack answered with a big grin.   
"Hey, what can I say, FLOTUS* is such a nice woman. She has at least taste, not like you", Sam replied, sticking her tongue out to her husband.   
"Sir, ma'am. Can I please see your ID cards?", a guard interrupted the back and forth between Sam and Jack.  
"Of course,", the two officers replied simultaneously and rummaging in their pockets for their military IDs.   
They had found them and shown the guard and were halfway to the West Wing when a man came to meet them.   
"General O'Neill I suppose. My name is Leon Vance, director of NCIS. You have taken over the investigation into the Gromwich case and now two of my agents have disappeared. You do not happen to know where they are?", Director Vance introduced himself to Jack.   
"Director Vance, if you mean the two agents who shadowed my people, then I know where they are. But I will not tell you", came Jack's direct and open words.   
"General O'Neill, I'm head of a federal agency. You will immediately tell me where the two federal agents are", came it threateningly from Vance.   
"The only person who can command me is my wife and the President of the United States", was jacks response.  
"General, would you please follow me?", intervened an agent from the Secret Service who had been sent to receive the general after seeing in the White House that he had entered the compound.   
"Agent ...?", Jack asked.   
"Kleinmann. Agent Kleinmann sir. "   
"Agent Kleinmann, Director Vance will accompany us."   
"Yes, sir." 

Anteroom Oval Office 

"Ah, General O'Neill, it's nice to see you again", said the president's secretary.   
"Ginger, it's always a pleasure for me. Has he time for me?", Jack answered as he stood in front of her desk.   
"One moment please, I'll check it", Ginger said and stood up.   
Leon Vance was amazed at how openly the General and his wife were greeted in the White House, as if they walked at least once a day through the corridors of the West Wing.   
It had also surprised him when the Chief of Staff's wife unceremoniously hugged Colonel Carter-O'Neill when she had greeted them.   
"The President and the First Lady will now receive you General", Ginger said.   
This brought Leon, who was completely immersed in his thoughts, back to reality.   
"Thanks, Ginger", Came from General O'Neill before entering the Oval Office. 

"Mr. President, Mrs. Hayes. I'm sorry to bother you, but we have a problem with the NCIS and my department ... ", Jack started immediately as Leon closed the door behind them.   
Immediately, the president picked up his phone and called Ginger.   
"Ginger I do not want any interference until I say it", The President said in his phone. 

USS George Hammond   
infirmary 

"Tony, how are you? Are you still in pain?", Ziva asked her colleague, who rolled his eyes.   
"Ziva I feel the same as five minutes ago when you asked me that. You can be worse than Abby", Tony said a little annoyed by his colleague.   
"Do not be annoyed. I'm worried about you. You were hit by some weapon on the hip and I saw the wound, it was huge and badly. You really should be in unbearable pain with such a wound."   
"Ziva the only thing I feel is a slight pull on the hip. They probably have such good drugs, that I do not feel ... AUA! WHAT THE HELL? ARE YOU CRAZY TIVA? Why are you hitting me on my leg?"   
"I wanted to see if the painkillers are really that good. Apparently, they are not, otherwise you would not have noticed the blow", Ziva explained why she had hit him.   
"You could have hurt me badly, Ziva. My wound could have burst open again or something else!", Tony said with a hurt undertone in his voice.   
"I do not believe it Tony. I think we also get played here Tony; something is not mature here."   
"Right Ziva, right. Not mature. What do you even mean Ziva? I do not see anything unusual."   
"Tony, if we're on a Navy ship, where's the Navy staff? This doctor who treated you is clearly a civilian. The orderlies and the nurses have Air Force badges on their coats. And the two guards standing in front of the infirmary are not Marines but Army Rangers. Something is not right here." 

Washington   
NCIS HQ 

Two men dressed in suits entered the office and went to the nearest staff member.   
"We are looking for Special Agent Gibbs. Do you know where we can find him?", asked one man.   
"Here you can find him", came Gibbs voice from his desk.   
The two men went to Gibbs's desk and looked at the agent.   
"Agent Gibbs, Agent Cicek and Agent Thompsen Secret Service. We must ask you to accompany us, it is about the security of the nation.”

 

Tbc

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * FLOTUS: First Lady of the United States of America


	9. Enlightenment

White House   
Anteroom of Oval Office

"Agent Gibbs, the President will receive you any moment", Ginger said as she glanced at Gibbs.   
Gibbs responded by nodding briefly to her before returning his gaze to the door to the Oval Office.   
He thought it was funny that two Secret Service agents had brought him and not Director Vance, but right now nothing could shake him, after what had happened in the last few days.   
"Agent Gibbs, you can go in now", came Ginger's voice through the fog of his thoughts.   
Jethro got up and walked to the now open door.   
"Agent Gibbs sit down pleas", President Seaborne welcomed him.   
"Thank you, Mr. President", Gibbs responded and sat down on the seat on the couch where the President showed him to sit, which was right next to Director Vance.   
As he sat down, he saw exactly who was in the room.   
In addition to the president and his director, there were the First Lady, President's Chief of Staff Mr. Lymen, Colonel Carter, Joint Chief of Staff General Dempsey, General (ret.) * Ryan, General (ret.) * Maynard, Director Vance, and General O’Neill.  
It was rare that one encountered this group of people in a room, Gibbs knew that. What surprised him a little bit was that they had brought him to it.   
"Do you know why you are here?", President Seaborn asked when Gibbs had sat down.   
"I can only guess, Mr. President", replied Gibbs truthfully.   
"Guess then, Agent Gibbs", it came amused from General Ryan.   
"Yes, sir. I suppose, since General O'Neill and Colonel Carter-O'Neill are here, it has something to do with the attack of Sergeant Gromwich. I suspect, furthermore, that there is more to this attack, than I have believed, sine we are all together in this room", came it dryly by Gibbs.   
"That's correct Agent Gibbs. Now we have only one problem and this is you Gibbs", came from General Dempsey.   
"Sir?", Gibbs asked a little confused, because he could not imagine why he should be a problem in this the matter anymore.   
Yes, he was stubborn and had his people on the colonel and her men, but nothing else.   
"Agent Gibbs, I will ask you a question and then, you have ten seconds to think about your answer", said the President.   
"Yes, sir."   
"Agent Gibbs, do you think we are alone in the galaxy? Ten seconds", the president asked. 

~~~***~~~

Inwardly, this question surprised him, because what had such a question to do with this case. But he wanted to know more about the sergeant and everything around him and then something Abby had said once to him came to his mind.   
"Either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both options are equally scary", Jethro answered after not even three seconds of consideration.   
The President looked at everyone present, keeping his eyes on General O'Neill the longest before he nodded to him.   
"Agent Gibbs, what we will tell you now, will change your worldview forever", the President said before briefly nodding to Colonel Carter.   
"Agent Gibbs, the US Air Force has been traveling to other planets since 1997. We're using an extraterrestrial technology, which we call Stargate, though we're using spaceships right now. Since the launch of the Stargate program, our teams have literally visited hundreds of planets, even other galaxies. During our travels we came across friendly as well as hostile ways of life. One of these life forms were the Goa'uld, a parasitic form of life that nestles in the bodies of others. We waged war against them until we won it a few years ago. But we've also found friends, like the Asgard, a race of sophisticated life forms from the galaxy Ida, or the Free Jaffa", Sam started her talk but was interrupted by Gibbs.   
"You want to tell me that we were on other planets?"   
"Yes, we have been on other planets, even in other galaxies, and have bases there as well", Sam replied.   
"And what does that have to do with me or Sergeant Gromwich?", asked Gibbs bewildered.   
"The sergeant was a member of SG-17, one of our teams traveling to other planets and all appearances he was wounded by a weapon that does not have its origin on this planet. We call it Zat. This weapon fires a highly concentrated energy beam at the target, which makes it unconscious on the first hit, the second kills the target. The third hit disintegrates the target at the molecular level. Now it's up to us to find the sergeant's attacker and find out why he did it", Sam said.   
"And that's where you come in", General Maynard intervened in the conversation.   
"The Stargate Commands staff are capable soldiers and scientists, but none of them are trained investigators. The SGC would find enough evidence in time to find the person in charge, but we do not have the time. We need capable investigators who can work fast and clean and after your two agents have become more or less eyewitnesses to a firefight, Jack had decided to go to the president and get you on board", Maynard continued.   
"Can I have a coffee. I have to digest that first", Gibbs said with mixed feelings.   
"Do not mind Agent Gibbs. I felt the same way when they told me and my wife about the Stargate. You now belong to a small circle of Chosen People who know about the Stargate, act accordingly."   
"If I may ask how many people know about the Stargate?", Gibbs asked.   
"A little less than ten thousand people across the planet", Jack answered, and a silence spread in the Oval Office. 

All present saw Jethro and Leon, as they had just learned about the Stargate.   
"If I undertake this investigation, who am I subject to?", Gibbs asked, breaking the silence.   
"You would report directly to General O'Neill or Colonel Carter, who will conduct the investigation with you."   
Gibbs looked at Carter, who nodded in a friendly manner and had a slight smile on her face.   
"Sir, I need my team for this investigation."   
"Ms. Sciuto, Agent McGee and Dr. Mallard are brought up by members of the Secret Service to the Pentagon, where they will get a short briefing and then be transported to the SGC. Agent DiNozzo and David are in the infirmary of USS George Hammond, which is currently in Earth orbit. Before you ask, both your Agent are fine at least that's what this little cheeky doctor said", Mr. Lymen said. 

Infirmary   
USS George Hammond 

"Ziva it`s boring here, entertain me", Tony nagged for the hundredth time.   
"Tony! You're annoying me", Ziva replied and jumped up from her chair to join Cassie.   
"Doctor Fraiser, can you not give my colleague anything that will takeaway his ability to speak?", Ziva asked Cassie.   
"Do you believe that, if I had such a thing, I would not have used it already? Your colleague is almost as bad as Jack. I'm sorry, I cannot do anything, but as I've heard your team leader will be here soon with my superior and then you can leave the infirmary."   
"Finally, I cannot stand it anymore", Ziva said and went back to Tony.   
"What did you talk to her about?", Tony wanted to know right away when Ziva was back in her chair.   
"Tony you do not have to know everything."   
"T…“  
"Ziva?"   
"No…"   
"Zivaaa?"   
"No…"   
"Zivaaaaa?"   
"I swear Tony, if you annoy me again, I'll shoot you on the spot and make sure not even Gibbs finds your remains. I'm sure the doctor and the nurses here will surely help me with this", Ziva burst out.   
But before Tony could reply, Teal'c came to the bed.   
"Agent David, Agent DiNozzo. I'm supposed to take you to one of the meeting rooms."   
"Go ahead, we'll follow you", Ziva said after thrusting her elbow into Tony's ribs.   
"Agent David, Doctor Cassandra Fraiser would not approve of hurting your colleague further", Teal'c said, seeing this gesture. 

Meeting room 3   
USS Georg Hammond 

In a bright light, General O'Neill, Colonel Carter and Agent Gibbs appeared in the room where Mitchell, Daniel and Vala were waiting.   
Wow was the first thing they heard from Gibbs when he materialized.   
"If you found that good then they turn around", Mitchell said to Gibbs, as he could well remind himself what it was like, to be beamed for the first time.   
Gibbs who was still flooded with adrenaline turned and looked down through a huge panoramic window.  
"Wow", he said escaped for the second time as he looked at the earth directly below him.   
"Yes, that is always a majestic sight", Jack said and stood next to Jethro and looked at earth.   
"Let's sit down. Your two agents will soon to be her and the rest of the team should be here in five minutes.”   
"Good", Gibbs said and took his gaze from earth, before he went to one of the free chairs that were on the other side of the table so that he could look at SG-1.   
"Agent Gibbs, Doctor Jackson you already know. The man next to him is Colonel Cameron Mitchell and the Women is Vala Mal Doran.”   
The addressee nodded to Gibbs before returning to their previously activities.   
"O'Neill", the voice of Teal'c sounded and everyone turned to the door where the Jaffa stood.   
"Teal'c do you have them with you?", asked Jack, who now sat at the head of the table.   
"I have carried out your instructions exactly as you wanted it O'Neill", Teal'c said, stepping aside so that Tony and Ziva could enter the room.   
Immediately when they saw their boss, the two started talking wildly.   
"Boss you will not believe what they have ..."   
"Gibbs, you have ..."   
"And then have ... "   
"He was hit ... "   
"David, DiNozzo be silent!", Gibbs shouted loudly, and the two agents went silent on the spot.   
Tony was drawing air to keep his boss busy when suddenly the other three members of the NCIS team appeared in the room.   
"What's going on!", Abby screeched immediately as she realized that she was not in the same room as a few moments before.   
"Well that's so ..." Daniel started.

Tbc

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *(ret.) = retired


	10. Too mutch at once

The NCIS team had their mouths open, except for Gibbs, after spending an hour learning what the Air Force had achieved in the past ten years.   
Ziva was the only one who spoke after Daniel finished his explanation.   
"And you want us to help you find the Attacker of Sergeant Gromwich?", she asked Jack.   
"Exactly Ms. David. SG-1 is not a team of investigators, they have other abilities than your team. Therefore, you will conduct the investigation together with SG-1", he replied.   
After working on the fact that the Air Force was not only on the moon, but also on other planets, Tony got up.   
"Um, if we were to help you, we would need to go to the NCIS HQ, there's everything we have on this case and our equipment", he said and looked at Jack, who was only slightly grinning.   
"You do not have to go to the NCIS for this investigation, especially you are not allowed to. Your headquarters and your computers are not protected well enough to retrieve such secret data. You will undertake the investigation from onboard the Hammond", Sam interjected before anyone from the NCIS team could speak.   
"I think it's very nice of you to let us work on your spaceship, Colonel Carter, but Ms. Sciuto, you and me, need special machines and equipment for the exams. I also need my assistant", Ducky, for the first time since arriving, said something.   
"Doctor Mallard, we are aware of this, but as I said we are working here with very sensitive data. We cannot risk someone downloading it from NCIS databases. We'll get everything we will need; just make a list and we'll bring it in Cargo Hold Four and Five within an hour. The two storage rooms are directly opposite each other and are right down the hall. As for your assistant, Doctor, unfortunately we cannot bring him into this, for his own protection. But our CMO* has offered to help you out."   
"I gladly accept the offer from the CMO, and Abby will certainly be happy if you provide her with new equipment. Right Abby?", Ducky said.   
The addressed Goth just nodded while she was writing on a note she had received from Daniel, writing down what she would need to build a laboratory here on the Hammond.

"Since everything is clarified we can start now. Carter, I'm in my office when you need something", came it from Jack, who left the room.   
"We should also start before the leads get cold", Gibbs said, and everyone nodded in agreement.   
"I'm assuming you've learned more than us?", Gibbs asked if he already knew the answer.   
"We interrogated two survivors of the attack and they talked like a waterfall. They said they work for a man named Thomas Kleinz. After a short search in the databases of FBI, Interpol and some other organizations, we found out that this man a big fish, a weapon dealer back in the nineteen-nineties. After we had a name, it did not take long until we found him on the videotapes from the club."   
"Nice and good. You have found a name from an arms dealer who has his best years behind him, but what does that have to do with the attack on Sergeant Gromwich?", Tony interrupted Sam in her explanation.   
"Except that his men had alien technology nothing at all Agent DiNozzo", Jack's answer that dripped with sarcasm, as he returned to the room.   
Jack had not closed his mouth when Tony got a head-butt from Gibbs on the back of his head.   
He just looked questioningly at his boss but got no answer as Gibbs suggested Sam keep going. 

"As the general said, these weapons were illegal on Earth. Any extraterrestrial technology will go through the SGC or Area 51 where they are cataloged and get RFID* chips. These weapons did not have them. But that's just a minor matter. We suspect that the attacker of Sergeant Gromwich is also the person behind the arms smuggling", Sam finished. 

None of the attendees said anything, either that they were still digesting everything they had learned or simply had nothing to say, where the latter only met on SG1.  
Gibbs and Jack looked in the round and then at each other and their eyes crossed.   
"General O'Neill, on behalf of my team, thank you for introducing us to the Stargate program. I also know that it is not easy for you to take this step, but despite this the thank you. But I would like to ask you to give me and my team an hour to process all this. I do not think my people are really capable of working properly before this", Gibbs addressed the general directly.   
"Of course, Agent Gibbs. I remember it well when I first heard about Stargate, so you take as much time as you need. SG-1 and I are ready if you are", Jack said.   
"Teal'c how about a round in the ring?", Jack asked casually as he got up again.   
"As you wish, O'Neill", the Jaffa replied, following his longtime superior and friend out of the room, followed by the rest of SG-1. 

When SG-1 left the room, Gibbs, Ducky, Abby, Tony, Ziva, and McGee sat in their chairs for several minutes without saying a word.   
"Ha, and I thought McGee had a weird fantasy", Tony spoke in a voice that obviously heard the shock of the situation.   
"Thanks Tony", the young agent replied dryly.   
" I never thought I'd see the day. I never thought that during my lifetime, I would live to see that there really are life forms outside of our planet. If somebody at Edinburgh Medical School had told me that I would meet an alien ... " Ducky said, looking at his friends and colleagues.   
"At Mossad, we've learned to believe in what you cannot explain, but aliens?", Ziva said softly.   
Only Abby had not said anything yet, because she was still searching for the right words.   
"Gibbs, do you think they let us visit another planet?", She asked her boss quietly.   
"I'll ask the General Abbs. But I cannot promise anything. "   
With a squeal, the Goth jumped up from her chair and threw herself around her boss's neck.   
"THANK YOU GIBBS YOU ARE THE BEST!" she exclaimed loudly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *CMO = Chief Medical Officer  
> *RFID = radio-frequency identification


	11. Chapter 11

Abby stood in her "new" lab, watching as crew members of the Hammond and technicians who she not crewmembers, but obviously also belonged to the Stargate project, equipped it with equipment and materials they requested, which was the latest on the market.   
"The only thing missing is a Caf-Pow", she thought aloud, but one of the technicians noticed.   
"Ma'am, if you need anything else, let us know, we'll take care of it", he said as he walked past her.   
"Thanks!", she called after him. 

It did not take long for the technicians to connect all the devices to each other and to their computer systems.   
With a low buzzing, the devices started up, making Abby smile.   
"Miss Sciuto, if you want you can start working. All of our collected data is already on the hard drives. However, they do not have access to the Asgard core and please do not try to gain access, you do not want to know what happens if you try it", said the chief engineer of the Hammond, who had overseen all the work.   
"If there's anything else, here's a radio that will let you reach anyone on this ship. If you'll apologize me, I have to get back to the engine room." 

Nobody had heard how Gibbs had entered the room and watched everything.   
"Abby, when do you have something for me?", he asked the young woman, which startled her a bit.   
"Gibbs, do not scare me like that", she said in a high-pitched voice as she saw who was behind her.   
"So Abbs, do you have something for me?", he asked with his Gibbs smile.   
"I do not know, because only a few minutes ago everything was finished. I'll contact you as soon as I have something. Now let me work", she said and pushed Gibbs aside, so she came to her computer.   
Shaking his head, he left Abbs new workplace and made his way to find his other team members. 

All he had to do was cross the corridor and he was already in the new realm of Ducky, who, together with a young woman whom, he had seen before.   
He looked at her; beginning to the mid-twenties, but he was not really sure.   
"Jethro, good that you could come. This is Doctor Fraiser, she is this ship's CMO and one of the first graduates in extraterrestrial medicine. I could not believe it when she told me that she was for a semester in Scotland", welcomed Ducky his longtime friend and put Cassie in front.   
"Doctor Fraiser", came the simple greeting from Gibbs, with an outstretched hand.   
Cassie grabbed the hand and shook it.   
"Call me Cassie, Doctor Fraiser was my mother", she said in a friendly tone, which remind him a bit off Abby.   
"Can you already tell me what we have here?", he wanted to know now.   
"You come quickly to the topic, but Ok. Before you arrived, I could only roughly examine the bodies and since I am not a pathologist, I have not yet performed an autopsy. We wanted to bring the bodies to the Stargate Center. But I can tell you that all men died as a result of the shootings. Doctor Mallard ... "   
"Ducky."   
"... Ducky and I will take a close look at the bodies again."   
"Then I do not want to stand in your way", Gibbs said and set off to look for his three other team members. 

Not yet two meters gone, and he had already found you, or rather heard team. The three agents discussed so loudly that everyone who passed at the meeting room in which they were, involuntarily turned over to them and look into the room.   
"... ub me Tony, which is much better than anything from your films here", he heard echoing McGee's voice from the room.   
"Never in my life. Have you never seen Men in Black? That's: cool beautiful women, cool cars, good fashion, but here? None of it, no cars, no women, no clothes. These body suits look just terrible or not Ziva?", Tony justified his opinion.   
"Just keep me out of it Tony. I do not care what they wear and what the women look like. You really ought to care less, because we're here to solve a case and not look after any pants", Ziva said.   
"It's called: watching after skirts my Zivalein", Tony informed his partner. 

Hammond Bridge 

"If the time was wise to bring in NCIS. They have not done anything yet, but just talk about our clothes and our female crew members", Cam said what he thought.   
"Jack was thinking of something when he brought them here, Cam", Daniel answered.   
"The only ones doing anything are Abby and the pathologist. The others are just sitting around like that", Vala intervened.   
"Thank you Vala, exactly my statement."   
"It seems to me that Miss Sciuto has found something", Daniel said and looked at the screen in front of him, where they could see Abby excitedly trying to get her radio to work.   
"Let's go there then."


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only three more chapters after this one

"So, what do you have?", Sam asked as she entered the lab with SG-1, where the NCIS team was already waiting for them.   
"Doctor Fraiser and I looked once again at the wounds of Sergeant Gromwich and discovered something interesting. He did have more Wounds as the visible injuries in the hospital's report", Ducky started and was replaced by Cassandra.   
"Ducky and I found a tiny puncture behind his right ear in our research. An injection needle was rammed so hard into the head of the sergeant that there are clear marks on his skull bones. We were able to extract a sample of what was being injected into the sergeant’s body and passed it on to Abby", explain Cassandra.   
"However, we assume that it is a poison, because we have found evidence that suggest poisoning. But Abby will be able to tell if it was a poison and if so which one", added Ducky.   
"Did you not you tell me that the sergeant was attacked with a Zat?", Gibbs now asked the general.   
"Yes, I thought so too, until I got this new information. So, Cassie, can you explain this?", Jack now wanted to know from Cassandra.   
"Well, I suspect both should have led to death. The sergeant was first poisoned, but by some circumstance the poison did not work directly, so he was shot with a Zat. That's just a guess, if it really happened this way, you have to find out", The young woman answered her foster father

"Colonel Carter! Incoming transmission from the SGC, General Landry is on the Line!", sounded the voice of Sam's XO Lt. Col. Marks through the speakers in the room.   
"Put it through", Sam answered over her headset, which she briefly touched.   
It did not take long for the SGC's conference room to appear on one of the screens. At the table next to General Landry was Colonel Davis and three other men in suits who were screaming IOA.   
"General Landry, nice to hear from you. What can I do for you?", Sam started the conversation.   
"Colonel, we evaluated the data we received from the prisoners. They say Thomas Kleinz has teamed up with someone named Solek. Does the name seem familiar to you?"   
"Yes, sir!", Mitchell said before Sam.   
"But what does a former second-in-command of the Lucian Alliance have to do with a weapon smuggler on Earth?"   
"We do not know Colonel. But it gets even better. Allegedly a meeting between Kleinz and Solek will be starting in less than two hours in Hawaii. If that's really the case, then we must act now."   
"We cannot let the Lucian Alliance meet with someone on Earth. The IOA believes that we must do everything we can to prevent this, and therefore agrees with every action you take to prevent this Meeting", one of the IOA men stated.   
"That's something new", Jack could be heard in the background.   
"Hank, Walter should send us everything you guys found out. We'll talk later, we have an assault to plan."   
"Sure Jack."   
With these words the transmission was ended, and everyone turned to the general. Gibbs was the first to speak.   
"So, from what I've heard, the Lucian Alliance is very dangerous, but what good would it have to attack the sergeant? It sounds more like they want no one to know that they have an operation on Earth. Since it's just stupid to try to kill someone whose death calls the people you want to leave in the dark", he said in his usual tone.   
"I have to agree with Agent Gibbs. Not even I was so stupid and betrayed myself when I had a job", it came from Vala, who had been relatively quiet.   
"Vala, you are a thief, you have not had a job", it came in passing from Daniel.   
"Both of you are right, it's more than just negligence."   
Mitchell, too.   
"We can ask him if we caught him", came it from Ziva.   
"Sam, you will be in command of this assault. Take Major Blair with Agent Gibbs for the planning. I take over the Hammond for this duration. Execute", General O´Neill gave his orders. 

 

One hour Forty minutes later Honolulu cargo port 

"Carter, the F-302s are in the air to intercept any ship of the Lucian, Hammond and Apollo are available, SG-3, 4 and 18 also. Scans show twenty people in the warehouse. Assault start on your mark", urged the voice of the General in the ears of all involved.   
Besides SG-1, the NCIS were thirty Marines and Rangers ready to assault the warehouse. Everyone knew what he had to do, and everyone was just waiting for the Colonel's command.   
Within a few kilometers, two squadrons of F-302s flew their rounds to catch rising cargo ships. 

Sam reached for her radio and activated it: "GO!"   
The accompanying soldiers broke the doors and windows down and tossed Flash and smoke grenades into the rooms beyond. Within seconds, the smoke spilled out of all the openings of the warehouse. The with Intars* armed soldiers stormed closely followed by SG-1 and the NCIS in the rooms.   
They split up immediately, one SG-1 and NCIS member teamed up with three soldiers each and started searching the rooms. Thanks to a data link to the Hammond they got real-time sensor images on their PDAs, which made it easier for them to drive the people in the warehouse together.   
There was only one door left, when most of the people heard a low hum.   
"They try to run. Go inside!", Sam ordered while two Rangers broke the door.   
"US ARMY! Drop your weapons and hit the ground!" the two Rangers shouted as they stormed the room, only to be welcomed by Zat fire.   
Immediately, they threw themselves on the ground and returned the fire from their M416. Covered by the fire, Sam jumped into cover with Gibbs.   
"We are under heavy fire: staff weapon, Zat and MPs. Cargo ship is trying to escape", Sam shouted to everyone. 

On board the Hammond, the general was watching over radio and sensors when Sam's message arrived.   
"Colonel Marks. 302 are to intercept and force to land. SG-3 should get ready to board the ship. Execute Plan D”, Jack spoke to the XO of the ship.   
"All Plan D comes into effect", Jack ordered, nodding to Marks. 

Warehouse thirty seconds later 

The bright light that had spread, when the Goa'uld shock grenade had beamed the Hammond had beamed into the warehouse, dimmed down the members of the task force rose from their cover and looked what had happened. All members of the Lucian Alliance and "staff" of Thomas Kleinz who had just shot at them, lay unconscious on the floor.   
"Secure everything immediately. Team Two, take the captives and prepare them for evacuation", commanded Major Blair.   
"Did anyone see Colonel Carter?" Daniel asked as he looked back where he had Sam seen last.   
"Over here Daniel Jackson”, called Teal'c to him, which also called the NCIS to the scene.   
Standing by Teal'c everyone could not resist a grin, because there laying on the ground was an unconscious Sam and an unconscious Gibbs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Intar: Goa´uld Training weapons


	13. Aftermatch

"My head", were the first words Gibbs muttered when he awoke.   
Immediately Ziva and DiNozzo were at his site, since they had not moved an inch since they were beamed back to the Hammond.   
"How are you boss?", Ziva wanted to know from him.   
"Yes, Boss, how are you?", came it also from Tony.   
Gibbs just looked at his two agents and then looked around the infirmary.   
"Can any of you tell me how long I was unconscious and how did that happen?", asked the older agent, ignoring the questions of the two younger ones.   
"Um, well that was ... General O'Neill has initiated Plan D, which means a Goa´uld stun grenade was beamed into the battle zone. So, every opposing force would be stunned. Colonel Carter and you boss were not fast enough to cover yourself”, Tony told him the situation.   
"Why is Colonel Carter not in the infirmary?", Gibbs wanted to know as he had not seen the blond Colonel.   
"Sam is not here because the effect on her, did not last as long as someone who was hit the first time by a Goa'uld shock grenade. You, on the other hand, slept full 24 hours, but that's because of the narcotics I gave you", Cassandra replied. 

"Narcotics?", Gibbs asked.   
"Yes, we usually administer it to relieve the side effects of the shock grenade. Without them, the headaches you have is going to be a lot worse", explained Cassie.   
"One more question Miss Fraiser. Do you know what happened to the prisoners? Have they been interrogated?"   
"You have to ask your agents. I´m only the Doctor on this ship. For gossip you have to ask one of the nurses”, Gibbs got in response, which made him look at his two agents. 

"So ...?", He addressed Tony and Ziva.   
"How should I say boss. You overslept everything. We interrogated the prisoners along with Colonel Mitchel, Teal'c, and this Doctor Jackson. Boss you do not even believe how good they are. This Teal'c has managed to make one of the prisoners talk within a minute. That was awesome. He first stared at him for a moment and then got up again and walked slowly behind the prisoner. At first, I thought he would hit him, but he only leaned over and whispered something in his ear. Then he turned his back on him and stared at him again. The guy started sweating almost immediately. Ziva already wanted to go to the interrogation room and ask questions when the guy started to sing as if there was no tomorrow. He told us everything about the smuggling of the weapons he knew."   
"Moment. You want to tell me this Teal'c got all the important information in just one interrogation?", Gibbs wanted to know in amazement.   
"Not quite boss. With the information Teal'c had received, Tony, Colonel Mitchel, Jackson and I could take everything else we needed from the other prisoners. Even the general interrogated a leader of the Lucians with me. From him we know that someone in Washington has his fingers in the smuggling and the attack. We have not yet been able to find out who it is", Ziva told Gibbs.   
“Doctor Fraiser, can I leave the infirmary? I'd like to look at the evidence and talk to General O'Neill."   
"Of course, Agent Gibbs. If the headache is not gone in an hour, come back here and I will give you an aspirin. Otherwise, you´re free to go.” 

An hour later, Hammond's meeting room 

"General O'Neill, I'd like to talk to you", Gibbs asked Jack as he looked at him.   
"Sergeant, we'll talk later."   
"Of course, sir", with that, the sergeant packed his tray and left the room.   
"Take a seat", Jack said pointing to the chair across from him.   
As requested, Gibbs sat down opposite Jack.   
"How are you Gibbs? Did you recover well after this good night's sleep?" Jack asked the NCIS Agent with a small smile on his lips.   
"Still a lite headache, which I owe to you. Otherwise I'm fine."   
"Well, a few more times and you will get used to the effect", Jack joked.   
"I hope that does not happen", Gibbs replied with a smile.   
"General O'Neill I’m here, because I read through the testimonies and evidence logs. And I came across something strange. Again, and again, it was mentioned that someone in a high position in Washington must something with all this. The smuggling and the attack on Sergeant Gromwich. But nobody has mentioned a name or a possible suspect."   
"So far, I can follow you Gibbs", Jack said, listening intensely to Gibbs.   
"I think, the Sergeant should have been died, not because he came too close to the smuggling operation, but also as a distraction. Somebody tried to mislead NCIS on the sergeant possible death. I also believe that the one person who ordered to kill the sergeant, did not know, that he was working for the Stargate program. That person was very close to the sergeant", Gibbs continued with his explanation of his theory.   
"Gibbs, you do not think that ... that's absurd", Jack just shook his head as he said this.   
"General, believe me I would not believe it, but HE is in the House Intelligence Committee* and he has good contacts with the military and other authorities. He could handle it all."   
"But why should he? The man has everything he wants, it can´t be just about money", Jack thought out loud.   
"I do not know, but we should ask him."   
"Well, take your agents, SG-1 and Carter with you. You leave in an hour. I have to call the president and tell him about this development."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *House Intelligence Committee = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_Permanent_Select_Committee_on_Intelligence


	14. Homestretch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think the last chappter will be online this Sunday.

USS George Hammond 

"If I say so, I do not know how to properly name the man we met. He introduced himself as Mr. M. Moore. How many times should I tell you this!", the man explained to Gibbs and Jack for the ten time.   
"If we would provide a picture of him, could you identify him?", Gibbs asked the man.   
"Yes, I have seen his face. I could identify him for you”, the man answered this question.   
Jack turned over the tablet he had been typing on all along.   
"Is it one of those six men?", Gibbs asked, pointing to the tablet.   
"Um, that's solitaire", said the man confused.   
"Um, sorry, I was bored", Jack said shrugging, swiping across the screen and finally the pictures appeared.   
"That's him! The one top left", the man said, pointing to the picture.   
"Are you really sure it's this man?" Jack asked again.   
"Yes, I am sure!"   
Without another word, Gibbs and Jack stood up and left the room.   
"Sergeant, bring the man to the brig", Jack told the guard standing outside the room. 

Shortly after the two had left the interview room, they met the others who had followed the interrogation in a side room via video link.   
"Really Jack, solitaire?", Daniel asked his friend.   
"What? I was really bored, and you know how I will be then", was all that Jack had to say.   
Not even Gibbs responded. 

Washington, DC   
White House 

"Mr. President, our investigation into the Gromwich case has been completed so far that we could identify the person responsible for the attack on First Sergeant Noah B. Gromwich. Just to arrest him, we need official approval from you because they are a member of the United States Senate."   
"General O'Neill, Agent Gibbs, are you sure your suspicions are true?", President Seaborn asked the two men in front of him.   
He had read the file Gibbs had put on the table, while O'Neill had explained the information in it in his normal no-nonsense short way.   
"We are absolutely sure, sir. We checked the facts we had more than once. We even worked nicely with the FBI and Homeland and they confirmed what we already knew. The Senator is behind everything and has ordered the attempt murder of First Sergeant Gromwich or did it himself", Gibbs responded to the President's question, looking him straight in the eye.   
"Gentlemen, arrest the man. He's the polar opposite of what the Senate and the United States stand for", Seaborn said as he picked up the phone.   
"Yes, sir. Agent Gibbs and I are on our way to the Senate. Our Teams war waiting outside, ready if we have gotten your OK”, Jack spoke to the president. 

A few minutes later the two men said goodbye to the President, who made a phone call with his Chief of Staff, so that he should take care of a press conference.  
He had already talked with the Chief Justice of the United States* for an arrest warrant.   
Gibbs and O'Neill called their Driver, which had driven them from the Pentagon to the White House, to take dem to the Senate building. 

Once there, the rest of the members of NCIS and SG-1 were waiting for their superiors to come and do their job.   
While the members of the NCIS were wearing their black service jacket labeled NCIS, the members of SG-1 had put on their dress blues, in the case of Sam and Cam, a pantsuit for Vala and a normal suit for Teal'c, which screamed Federal Agent or Lawyer.

"I have to say Teal´c the suit is made for you", Cam noted as he plucked at the collar of his service shirt again.   
"Indeed, Colonel Mitchell. This garment fits very well in this environment, so I chose it”, replied the Jaffa warrior.   
"It was imposed on me", Vala said a bit sullying.   
"You look sharp and sexy", came the standard statement from Tony, when he saw a beautiful woman. 

"AUA", yelled Tony when Gibbs had given him a head bump from behind.   
"Not so much drooling Tony, more working", Gibbs said, who was climbing the stairs with Jack from the SUV to the group.   
Jack looked amused and with a glint in his eyes to Sam.   
"Sir, if you try this with me, I'll let Cassy use the extra big needles on you next medical exam."   
"Carter, I am deeply wounded. How can you think so bad of me?", Jack asked, holding each of his hands to his heart.   
"She knows you Jack", Daniel replayed.   
Without another word, Jack went with Gibbs to the waiting US Capitol Police Chief of Police.   
"If we leave the building with the accused, we'll take him directly to our SUV. Please keep the stairs free of journalists and onlookers and see to it that two of your patrol cars give the SUVs escort to the Navy Yard."   
"Affirmative Agent Gibbs", said the policeman and immediately gave the orders to his men. 

While the policeman was still passing the orders, Gibbs waved the team with a hand to understand that they were starting this arrest.   
With Gibbs and Jack in the lead, the team made their way to the Senate Chamber where a meeting was held. 

 

"Mr. Speaker, I’m sorry for this interruption of the meeting, but I have business in this chambers" Jack said in a firm and especially loud voice into the room, when he had entered.   
The speaker looked at Jack in amazement, because there was very rarely such a break.   
"If I may ask, who are you general and what is your business?", The speaker asked, nodding slightly towards the right-hand wall of the room.   
Only now Jack saw that there were TV cameras which were now all focused on him and were sending the pictures live on TV.   
“Mister Speaker, my name is Lieutenant General Jonathan O'Neill United State Air Force, next to me Senior Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs Naval Criminal Investigative Service. We are here with an arrest warrant for Senator Julian Gromwich for weapon smuggling, espionage, high treason and the attempt murder of his one son, First Sergeant Noah Benjamin Gromwich Unites State Marine Corps", Jack paused after each of the charges for the words to sink.   
Meanwhile, Gibbs had gone to the speaker's place and put the arrest warrant on the table.   
The speaker read the arrest warrant and then nodded briefly.   
"Yes, this warrant is legal. Agent Gibbs do your job", the speaker said.   
"Senator Gromwich, you have heard the charges. Everything you say can be used in court. You have the right to a lawyer, if you cannot afford one, a public defender will be provided", said Tony, which together with Ziva an Colonel Mitchel were standing behind the Senator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Chief Justice of the United States = Highest judge in the US


	15. Beginning or End?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A / N 1: That's it with the story. Thank you all for reading and commenting.

ZNN live studios  
Washington DC 

"... What's new Mac?", the moderator asked his colleague, who was connected via live video fed.  
There standing n front of the NCIS Headquarters was the ZNN Reporter. Behind him you could see a lot of reporters from different Networks and publications. 

“There is still no new information since the first report and the arrest of Senator Gromwich. However, word is going around in well-informed circles, that there will be a press conference in the next few hours”, Mac reported, while the Camera was on him and the crowd. 

Unnoticed by all of the reporters, three gray haired men stood in the background.  
"This will be total shit", said one and took a sip of his coffee, while the other relish his last cake and nodded in agreement. 

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N 2: If you have ideas for another SG / NCIS crossover, write me a PM and I will see what I can do.


End file.
